PLAINVILLE -- General Electric Co. is providing $7.5 million to the University of Connecticut for scholarships, an endowed professorship and research and development the company hopes will eventually be incorporated into products worldwide.

Bob Gilligan, chief executive officer of GE's Industrial Solutions business, said during a ceremony at Industrial Solution's Plainville facility the investment was an important step in creating a more meaningful relationship with UConn and other leading universities.

As more than 225 GE workers, representatives from UConn and politicians mingled after the announcement, Gilligan said expectations are high for arrangement. "What we're really doing is working on core technology that will get transferred," he said. "My expectation is we will begin to see these innovations in products in three to five years."

The investment will occur over five years and includes a $1.5 million endowment for a GE professorship in the UConn School of Engineering, a $2.7 million grant for graduate and undergraduate fellowships and sponsorships, and up to $3.3 million for GE-directed research in materials, manufacturing and circuit breaker technologies at UConn.

Gilligan said the advancements developed by this partnership will be incorporated in products around the globe.

Politicians and university officials see the partnership as a vital shift toward creating an economy in which government institutions play an active role.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy called the investment a vital step in returning Connecticut and the U.S. to its prominence in advanced manufacturing and technology. "GE joins us in this important project to revitalize precision manufacturing and invention in our state," he said. They want to "make sure all the great things that have happened in Connecticut are matched by the great things that will happen in the future."

He said it was unfortunate the state took its eye off the ball in recent years, but it is now addressing that lapse with this investment and others, including the rollout of three advanced manufacturing technology centers in community colleges.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said this is part of a push to have the nation make things again.

State Senate President Pro Tem. Donald Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, said Connecticut under Malloy is acting as a catalyst to propel the economy during a time when every state and nation is competing economically.

The university officials said they were thankful for the contribution, but also see it as validation of efforts to create a world-class institution with a vital role in economic development in the state, according to UConn President Susan Herbst.

Interim UConn Dean Kazem Kazerounian, of the School of Engineering, said the fellowships will be available almost immediately, while the search involving the endowed professorship could take six months or longer. The money is expected in the next week.

GE employees attending the event were given new fleece jackets emblazoned with "GE" and "UConn" and were given the opportunity to win tickets to the UConn Homecoming Game.